Early Earth

John W. Valley1

half-lives (i.e. 26Al26Mg, half-life

T
he earliest Earth was a strange inhospitable world, yet transitions to a
of 0.73 Myr), in which the parent
more familiar planet occurred within the first billion years. In spite of
isotope is now extinct; ages are
sparse preservation of an ambiguous rock record, recent studies refine measured relative to the formation
the nature and timing of key events. This issue reviews current knowledge of of the solar system. Thus, we can
the age of the Earth, massive early meteorite impacts, the early atmosphere count forward or backward. This
situation leads to the irony that
and hydrosphere, the rock record, and the first life. the occurrence of some events is
well established during the first
KEYWORDS: Hadean, early Earth, geochronology, meteorites,
50 million years, but the next 500
atmosphere, oceans, zircon, life Myr period from which no known
rocks have been preserved (some-
The surface of the Earth was cruelly inhospitable at the time times called the geological Dark Ages) is poorly under-
of its birth about 4.5 billion years ago. Red-hot oceans of stood, and the following 4000 Myr of Earth history are
magma, massive meteorite strikes, and a dense atmosphere increasingly well documented. No single date can be
elicit the name Hadean for this earliest time period (FIG. 1). assigned for the formation of the Earth, which accreted over
Clearly such extreme conditions had to subside before con- a period of time from swirling dust, rocks, and planetesi-
tinents, oceans, and life could survive on Earth (see cover). mals (~1 km diameter bodies) in the solar nebula. However,
So when did the Hadean end? Evidence from rocks has been the age of the solar system is known with extreme precision
used to place this boundary at 3.8 Ga (billion years before from studies of meteorites to be 4.567 Ga. The Earth grew
present), the age of the oldest known water-laid sediments. rapidly after this start, and calculations show that it
The fossil record of life begins even later at 3.5 Ga, although attained most of its mass within 10 million years. Other
low carbon isotope ratios (13C/12C) in carbonaceous matter events within the first 50 Myr include the gravitational
from Isua, Greenland, suggest that life got its start before settling of iron to form the metal core of the Earth and the
3.8 Ga. Recently, isolated detrital zircons as old as 4.4 Ga
from localities in Western Australia have provided evidence
that the Hadean was shorter than previously thought.
While extreme opinions exist on both sides, a moderate
position is that small continent-like land masses existed by
4.4 Ga and oceans hospitable to life existed at 4.2 Ga
(FIG. 2). In this interpretation, the Hadean was over by 4.2 Ga
and possibly earlier. Life may have emerged quickly in the
post-Hadean oceansthere is no direct evidence. If life did
exist before 3.8 Ga, it was subjected to intense meteorite
bombardment and possibly extinction.
The age of the Earth has been debated for centuries. Accu-
rate estimates based on the radioactive decay of uranium to
lead were first made with improved mass spectrometers fol-
lowing the Second World War. In the second article of this
issue, The Origin of the Earth Whats New?, Alex Halli-
day describes the precise chronology of events that has
been established from the many isotope systems now avail-
able for determining the age of rocks. A traditional type of
geochronometer uses parentdaughter isotope pairs with
long half-lives for radioactive decay (i.e. 238U206Pb, half-
life of 4468 million years, Myr); this method has established
the geological time scale in years before the present. A more
recently exploited technique uses isotope pairs with short

1 Department of Geology & Geophysics FIGURE 1 Artists view of the Hadean Earth from the 1952 cover of
University of WisconsinMadison Life magazine and numerous subsequent textbooks.
1215 W Dayton St While such energetic conditions prevailed during the first 50 million
Madison WI 53706, USA years after the Earth formed, recent studies suggest that a more clement
E-mail: valley@geology.wisc.edu climate and a cool early Earth became the norm within 200300 Myr
(see cover illustration).

ELEMENTS, VOL. 2, PP. 201204 201 A UGUST 2006

formation of the Moon when a planet struck the Eartha
terrestrial impact so violent that both bodies melted and
partly vaporized.
The Earth continues to grow today, with 106107 kg of
meteorites added each year, including thousands that are
fist-size or larger. This is a trace contribution to the mass of
the Earth and largely goes unnoticed. In Impact Processes
on the Early Earth, Christian Koeberl portrays a far more
violent early history of meteorite impacts and cratering.
During accretion, the mass flux of material added to the
Earth was extreme, but it dropped five to ten orders of mag-
nitude during the first 100 Myr and has continued to
decline ever since, except during a resurgence called the
Late Heavy Bombardment at ~3.85 Ga. While no evidence
of impacts during the first billion years is preserved on
Earth, largely due to tectonic reworking, nearly 200
younger impacts are known, the oldest being the Vredefort
Dome (2023 Ma) in South Africa. Only the ancient surfaces
of the Moon and Mars have provided evidence of the ear-
lier ravages.
The early atmosphere was thick, hot, and poisonous. Car-
bonic greenhouse gases prevailed, and before 2.3 Ga,
levels of oxygen were too low to sustain aerobic life. In
Earths Earliest Atmosphere, Kevin Zahnle traces the evo-
lution from a Hadean atmosphere to more clement condi-
tions that could nourish life. Early on, not only were the
oceans vaporized by energetic impacts, so was the silicate
surface of the Earth, followed by magmatic rain and
hailstones of rock! However, the faint young Sun was
30% weaker than today, and cooling of Earths surface was
surprisingly rapid. Calculations suggest that post-Hadean
temperatures subsided enough to precipitate steam as ocean
water and, depending on poorly known levels of atmos-
pheric insulation, to freeze water. Zahnle argues that the
cool early Earth was actually a snowball with pools of water
localized around geothermal vents or at impact sites. These
changing conditions could have spurred the emergence
of life.
ELEMENTS
FIGURE 2 Timeline for the first billion years of Earth history. Key
events are shown along with oxygen isotope ratios (18O)
of zircons from igneous rocks and their UPb age. Primitive rocks in
equilibrium with the Earths mantle have average 18O of 5.3 (Valley
et al. 2005). Higher supracrustal values (6.5 to 7.5) result from
processes that require liquid water on the surface of the Earth. Thus, the
end of the Hadean was at or before 4.2 Ga.
Rocks at least 2.5 billion years old are found on every con-
tinent and are relatively common (FIG. 3). However, most of
the more ancient rocks have been destroyed or reworked
beyond recognition by the Earths tectonic processes. Only
a handful of small localities are known to be older than
3.6 Ga. In Antiquity of the Oceans and Continents, Allen
Nutman reviews studies of these key areas, with emphasis
on Isua, Greenland, the most diverse early terrane. In spite
of moderate metamorphism, ~3.8 Ga rocks from Isua pre-
serve evidence of plate tectonics, oceans, and perhaps life.
The only known older rocks are gneisses from Acasta,
Canada, at 4.0 Ga. The only record of rocks older than this
comes from isolated crystals of the mineral zircon from
Western Australia that are as old as 4.4 Ga.
Zircons are exceptionally robust and retentive. The most
ancient grains were removed from unknown parent rocks,
transported as wind-blown dust and river mud, and
deposited as detrital grains in sedimentary rocks. They carry
chemical clues to their origin in the form of mineral inclu-
sions, trace elements, growth zoning, and isotopes of ura-
nium, lead, oxygen, and hafnium (see Zircons Are For-
ever: www.geology.wisc.edu/zircon/zircon_home.html).
The study of these tiny time capsules requires the use of
advanced instruments, including large secondary-ion mass
spectrometers called ion microprobes, which measure the
age (UPb) and oxygen isotope ratio in 1020 m domains.
These characteristics can be correlated with other features
in the 100300 m crystals (FIG. 4). The existence of zircons
as old as 4.4 Ga indicates that small amounts of granitic
(sensu lato) proto-continent existed at that time. Without
such buoyant crust, the zircon-bearing rocks would have
202 A UGUST 2006

FIGURE 3 Map showing known (dark orange) and suspected (light
orange) areas of rocks older than 2.5 billion years. Areas
with >3.6 Ga rocks or zircons are labeled by name.
sunk into the mantle and been destroyed. High oxygen iso-
tope ratios in some early zircons suggest that liquid water
oceans existed at 4.2 Ga (FIG. 2). Evidence from Ti and Hf
has been interpreted as indicating even earlier granites
(sensu stricto) and that plate tectonics was operating, but
the uniqueness of these interpretations is debated (Harrison
et al. 2006; Valley et al. 2006).
The oldest-known fossil evidence for life, along with appro-
priate geochemical signatures, is found in ~3.5 Ga rocks,
but this does not necessarily date the emergence of life. If
the first life was at 3.5 Ga, that would suggest that it was
delayed by 700 million years after the end of the Hadean.
In The First Billion Years: When Did Life Emerge?
William Schopf discusses the evidence for life found in
rocks from the oldest localities. It appears that one-celled
organisms were diversified, flourishing, and relatively com-
mon by ~3.5 Ga, indicating that the first life came much
earlier. If the carbon isotope record in metamorphic rocks is
correct, then the emergence of life was before 3.8 Ga. In
fact, all of the essential ingredients for life were assembled
on Earth as soon as near-surface waters cooled enough for
DNA to be stable (~4.2 Ga). If life emerged on Earth or was
delivered from space at this time, its main challenge would
have been possible annihilation during the Late Heavy
Bombardment (~3.85 Ga). Survival chances would have
been enhanced if primitive microbes, like archaea, were

A B C
401714 41035
7.6 7.2 40985
7.1 (97%)

36495
7.2
6.5

W74/3-15 6.9

01JH54-81
6.7
6.6 405521
6.8
6.8 6.5
FIGURE 4 Tiny 100300 m detrital zircons from the Jack Hills,
Western Australia. (A) A single zircon with a human hair 6.3
for scale on Lincolns nose from a US penny. (B) Zircons laid out for cast-
ing in epoxy, polishing, and analysis. Note the variable rounding due to 40365
abrasion during transport by wind and rivers. A younger, unrounded,
volcanic zircon is shown in the upper right for comparison. (C) Catho-
41168
doluminescence images of polished zircons showing ages (Ma, >85% 40637
concordant) and oxygen isotope ratios (18O) obtained from ion micro- 01JH60-51
probe analysis at various spots. Scale bar is 100 m. FROM CAVOSIE ET AL. 01JH54-58
2005

ELEMENTS 203 A UGUST 2006

capable of subsisting underground in the absence of sun-
light. Alternatively, the earliest life on Earth may have
evolved and become extinct many times before 3.85 Ga,
and the present inhabitants of Earth may be descended
from the first continuously successful life, but not the first
life.
Taken together, these articles summarize a new under-
standing of the first one billion years of history of our
planet and portray its evolution from highly energetic to
clement. This is a rapidly emerging field of study that will
aid interpretation of other planets and the origin of life,
inside the solar system and possibly beyond.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank the authors of this special issue for their broad
knowledge and enthusiasm. Tom Ahrens, Bill Barker, Clark
Johnson, James Kasting, Andrew Knoll, Kevin McKeegan,
Ian Parsons, William Peck, Bruce Simonson, Ross Taylor,
Simon Wilde, and two anonymous readers reviewed the
articles. Aaron Cavosie, Mary Diman, Don Dixon, and
Andre Valley contributed artwork for the cover and this
GLOSSARY
Archaea A recently recognized domain of prokaryotic life.
Single-celled organisms, similar in structure to bacteria, but
different in metabolism and genotype. They include
methanogens and hyperthermophiles that may be similar to
the first life.
Archean Precambrian Eon older than 2.5 Ga and younger than
the Hadean
Banded iron formation (BIF) Layered rock composed of
centimeter-scale bands of quartz and iron oxide precipitated
from ocean water. The earliest known BIFs formed at 3.8 Ga,
whereas the largest BIFs formed between 2.5 and 1.8 Ga, at
the same time as the rise of atmospheric oxygen.
Carbon isotopes The ratios of the stable isotopes of carbon
(13C/12C) are normalized to a marine carbonate standard and
expressed as 13C in per mil (). Low 13C/12C results from
metabolism and is commonly cited as evidence for biogenic-
ity. Questions arise in ancient rocks regarding the source of
carbon, its preservation, and abiogenic reactions.
Cathodoluminescence (CL) Light emitted by minerals during
electron bombardment. Commonly viewed with an electron
microscope. CL imaging of zircons can detect growth zoning,
inherited cores, and damaged domains.
Hadean Geological time before the Archean Eon, ~4.5 to 4.2 Ga
Ga Billions of years before the present
Giant Impact Theory Widely accepted hypothesis that the
Moon was formed when the Earth was struck by a Mars-size
planet at ~4.5 Ga
Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) Event characterized by a
sharp increase in the size and number of meteorites striking
the Earth and other bodies in the inner solar system; proposed
to have occurred at ~3.85 Ga
Lithophile Refers to elements that concentrate in silicate min-
erals and melts and are more abundant in the Earths crust
than in its mantle and core
Ma Millions of years before the present
Magma ocean Worldwide ocean of molten rock, initially at
the Earths surface during accretion but later covered by newly
formed crust; may have been hundreds of kilometers deep in
the Hadean
ELEMENTS
article. Pierrette Tremblay is especially thanked for her tire-
less contributions to all aspects of each issue of Elements.
The authors research is funded by DOE and NSF. .
REFERENCES
Cavosie AJ, Valley JW, Wilde SA (2005) Magmatic 18O in
44003900 Ma detrital zircons: A record of the alteration and
recycling of crust in the Early Archean. Earth and Planetary
Science Letters 235: 663-681
Harrison TM, Blichert-Toft J, Mller W, Albarede F, Holden P,
Mojzsis SJ (2006) Response to Comment: Heterogeneous Hadean
hafnium: Evidence of continental crust at 4.4 to 4.5 Ga. Science
312: 1139
Valley JW, Lackey JS, Cavosie AJ, Clechenko CC, Spicuzza MJ, Basei
MAS, Bindeman IN, Ferreira VP, Sial AN, King EM, Peck WH,
Sinha AK, Wei CS (2005) 4.4 billion years of crustal maturation:
oxygen isotope ratios in magmatic zircon. Contributions to
Mineralogy and Petrology 150: 561-580
Valley JW, Cavosie AJ, Fu B, Peck WH, Wilde SA (2006) Comment:
Heterogeneous Hadean hafnium: Evidence of continental crust
at 4.4 to 4.5 Ga. Science 312: 1139 .
Oxygen isotopes The ratios of the most common stable iso-
topes of oxygen (18O/16O) are normalized to an ocean water
standard and expressed as 18O in per mil (). Fractionations
are generally mass dependent and used to determine the tem-
perature of geological events. The ratios of 17O/16O are meas-
ured in rocks from extraterrestrial bodies and sometimes Earth
to study mass-independent processes.
Planetesimals Small kilometer-scale rock bodies orbiting the
young Sun
Radioisotopes Isotopes that undergo radioactive decay. The
parentdaughter isotope ratio and half-life can be used to
determine the age of a rock.
Siderophile Refers to elements that concentrate in metal and
are more abundant in the Earths core than in its outer parts
SIMS, secondary-ion mass-spectrometer Also called the ion
microprobe, an analytical instrument capable of dating zircons
and measuring isotope ratios from microscopic spots (typically
1020 m) in individual crystals using a highly focused ion
beam
Stromatolite Typically, a finely laminated sedimentary feature
formed in shallow water by photosynthetic microbial commu-
nities
TIMS, thermal-ionization mass-spectrometer An analytical
instrument most often used for UPb geochronology of single
zircons and larger samples. Since precision increases with sam-
ple size, ages may be more precise than those obtained with
the ion microprobe; however, the ability to analyze zoned or
heterogeneous zircons is lost.
Tonalite Granitic plutonic rock with dominant quartz (>20%)
and plagioclase [Plagioclase/(Alkali feldspar + Plagioclase) >90%]
Zircon Common trace mineral (ZrSiO4) that is highly resistant
to mechanical and chemical alteration. It yields the most reli-
able estimates of the UPb age and oxygen isotope ratio for
ancient rocks. In situ analysis by ion microprobe can resolve
the ages of inherited cores and younger overgrowths.
204 A UGUST 2006